From the Pastor, Dennis Plourde
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To be a continuing influence of grace, peace and joy we are called to:
• practice love, forgiveness and hospitality that affirms our diversity.
• nuture and minister to each other.
• be a joyful people grateful for all of God's blessings. |
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Grace, Peace and Joy
I Samuel 3:10-21; Galatians 5:22-26 |
I was in a meeting with Charles Allen who was then the
pastor of the largest United Methodist Church in the world. As we sat together one of
the group asked him the question that he said he was always asked: "How many of your
members are 'active' members?" He said he would respond as he always responded to the
question (it was not the first time it had been asked!): "All are active. Some act
good and some act bad but all are active." How true are those words. Regardless of
what we may think we all have an influence for Christ on those we meet. Sometimes our
influence is good and other times it is not so good. Our second action guideline in
our vision statement calls for us to be an influence of grace, peace and joy.
I chose the story of Samuel and Eli to illustrate a
period when grace, peace and joy were not present in the land. You remember the story:
Samuel is born after his mother Hannah prays for a child and promises her child will
be dedicated to the Lord's service. At an age of 4 to 6 Samuel is given to the prophet
Eli to mentor in the ways of the Lord. It is a day when a vision or word from the Lord
is in short supply (3:1). As Samuel is sleeping he hears his name called and
immediately runs to Eli to see what his master wants. Eli responds that he has not
called him, he must be dreaming and tells him to go back to sleep. This happens three
times (even Eli has grown used to there being no word from the Lord). Finally Eli
realizes what is happening and instructs the young Samuel to respond: "Your servant is
listening." God calls again and Samuel hears the "word of the Lord."
Now this is not good news for Eli and his sons. Eli's
sons have not followed in their father's footsteps. They have misused the name of
their father and his role as prophet. The NIV calls them "wicked men," the NRSV calls
them "scoundrels," and the Message calls them "a bad lot." Whatever words are used to
describe them they are not representing God. There is no grace, peace or joy in the
land. Soon the Philistines will invade the land, capture the ark, resulting in the
death of Eli's sons and then Eli. These are dark days for Israel. However, there is
hope, Samuel. God never leaves his people without hope.
Turning now to our Galatians text we encounter what is
known as the "fruit of the Spirit." These nine "fruits" indicate a life in Christ and
for me all point to the first word of our action statement, grace. Grace is
something that most want but what few want to give. The NBC Nightly News on Friday, in
their "Making a Difference" segment, shared the story of a family whose daughter was
brutally killed in South Africa in 1993. They shared how the parents of this young
girl had given grace and forgiveness to the four young men captured and convicted of
killing their daughter. They traveled to South Africa and asked the court to commute
the death sentence of these young men and set them free. NBC highlighted the life of
two of these young men. One is now teaching at the school the parents built in honor
of their daughter, and one now travels around the world with the girl's mother sharing
how grace and forgiveness has changed his life. If I remember the story the other two
men also share in the school and its outreach in the very community where they took
the life of this young woman. Grace lived out.
Grace is God's unmerited favor towards us. It means we
see beyond today into a better tomorrow. It means we accept others as God has made and
called them. All of these are easy to say but hard to do. It also means that we must
forgive ourselves. You know how so often we say, "if only." We wonder what would have
happened "if" we had done this or that rather than what we did. We find it hard to
forgive ourselves. We find it hard to believe that God's grace extends to us.
I remember two women in a congregation that I served who
were at odds with one another. They were both wonderful women and served Christ
faithfully but would only speak to the other if it was absolutely necessary and then
with strained voices. I wondered what caused such a rift in their relationship but
knew better than to ask them! As time went by I did discover the cause: their mothers
had had an "issue" long before they were even teenagers.
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They were carrying the feud
of their mothers to a second generation. There was no grace in their relationship. We
are a people of grace—as we have been forgiven so much we forgive.
The next word in our second action statement is
peace. This is also a difficult word to define. It is more than the absence of
hostility, although for our world today that is a good start. It is a safe harbor or
haven. A place of refuge from the storms of life. A place where we can find shelter
and rest for our souls. I served for several years a congregation in Cutler, Maine
(about as far down east as you can go). The main call of fame for Cutler is that it
has one of the few natural safe harbors on the east coast. It is so sheltered that it
is protected from storms coming from any direction. Older members of the congregation
could remember the harbor being almost full of boats as they sought protection from
the coming storms. Is this not what we are called to be as the body of Christ? A safe
haven, a place of peace and refuge from the storms of life. A place where there is no
judgment or condemnation but forgiveness and peace which comes as a result of God's
grace upon our lives. The assurance of God's love.
Then comes joy. Another concept that is difficult
to define. It is not the joy of fun and jokes, although it can be. Laughter is a great
healer. People with laughter and joy in their lives heal faster – of course, we
all want to be made to laugh after surgery! Joy is more than being happy although this
too is a good partial definition. It is an assurance that all is well even in the
midst of the storms that come. An assurance that says, in the words of the hymn, "When
peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my
lot thou has taught me to say, It is well, It is well with my soul."
I remember on the Xtreme team members in the Philippines
commenting on how joyful the children we encountered seemed to be. He noted that they
did not have any game boys or x-boxes (I reminded him that many did not even have
electricity!). He thought that if he could only get each of them one of these
electronic toys they would be happier. But after a few days of observation he came up
with this conclusion: "they may be happier than I am and I have tons more stuff than
they do!"
There is a wonderful book by Charles Swindoll, Maybe
It's Time to Laugh Again, Experience Outrageous Joy. He uses, as the basis for the
book, Paul's wonderful letter to the Philippians. This book of Paul's is by far the
most upbeat and joyful book of all of Paul's writings. Yet it is written under the
most dire circumstances. Paul is in jail. His days may be numbered. He is restricted
of where he may go, what he can do, maybe even who he can see. He does not know when
the order may come for his death and yet he writes the most uplifting of books. He had
discovered how to be content in all circumstances and it is in Philippians that he
gives us the words, "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice" (4:4). A joy
that comes when we fully understand the redeeming power and love of God – God's
grace and peace.
It is appropriate that these three words are highlighted
in our vision statement: grace, peace and joy. People tend to gravitate to
where there is grace, peace and joy. Do you want to go where there is laughter or
where there is crying? We like celebrations. They call to us and fill us with the joy
of the moment: a joy that is ours in the living Christ. A joy that comes from the
grace and peace of our God.
There is a wonderful illustration in the first
Chicken Soup for the Soul. The author is unknown but it, for me, demonstrates a
life of grace, peace and joy. The story is of a young boy who leaves his house with
his baseball bat and ball announcing to no one in particular that he is the greatest
hitter in the world. He goes to the appropriate place in the yard and tosses the ball
in the air, swings and misses. He does this several more times—tossing the ball
into the air, swinging and missing. Finally, he exclaims, "Gee, what a great pitcher I
am!"
How good is our grace?
How sound is our peace?
How contagious is our joy?
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